Image display system and illumination device

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to an image display system for displaying an image on a display screen. The image display system includes a light-emitting portion, a lighting portion, a display control portion, and a lighting control portion. The light-emitting portion emits infrared light. The lighting portion sheds visible light. The display control portion performs predetermined information processing based on a detection result for the infrared light, thereby controlling image display on the display screen. The lighting control portion controls lighting by the lighting portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The disclosures of Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 2009-209319,2009-209320, both filed Sep. 10, 2009, and 2009-237110, filed Oct. 14,2009, are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

1. Technical Field

The technology presented herein relates to image display systems fordisplaying an image on a display screen, and more particularly to animage display system for providing additional visual effects to the useralong with images.

2. Description of the Background Art

Conventionally, there are game systems in which game images and suchlikeare displayed on a television receiver (hereinafter, simply described asa “television”) or suchlike. For example, Patent Document 1 (JapaneseLaid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-125614) discloses a game system inwhich the user moves a controller with his/her hand to perform a gameoperation, and a game image displayed on the television changes inaccordance with the game operation. In this game system, an infraredlight emitting device (marker portion) is installed around thetelevision as an accompanying device of the main game apparatus. Themarker portion is used by the game apparatus to calculate movement ofthe controller, and the game apparatus calculates the movement of thecontroller based on the position of the marker portion (infrared light)in an image picked up by a camera provided in the controller.

In conventional game systems, a game image resulting from a game processis simply displayed on the television screen. Accordingly, the gameimage displayed on the television screen is the only visual effectprovided to the user, and therefore the game only produces somerealistic and impressive effects in a limited manner. Also, as in thegame system of Patent Document 1, an accompanying device is installedaround the television, and the accompanying device does not provide anyvisual effect to the user together with the television.

SUMMARY

Therefore, a feature of the present technology is to provide an imagedisplay system for providing additional visual effects to the user alongwith images displayed on the screen.

To solve the aforementioned problem, the present invention employs thefollowing features (1) to (21)

(1) The present technology is directed to an image display system fordisplaying an image on a display screen. The image display systemincludes a light-emitting portion, a lighting portion, a display controlportion, and a lighting control portion. The light-emitting portionemits infrared light. The lighting portion sheds visible light. Thedisplay control portion performs predetermined information processingbased on a detection result for the infrared light, thereby controllingimage display on the display screen. The lighting control portioncontrols lighting by the lighting portion.

Here, the “image display system” is composed of one or more devices, anddoes not have to include a display device so long as it has a functionof displaying an image on a display screen (display device). Also, whilethe “display screen” corresponds to a display screen of a television 2connected to a game apparatus 3 in an embodiment to be described later,it may be a monitor of a personal computer, for example. Also, the“image” encompasses both still image and moving image.

The “light-emitting portion” is a concept encompassing infrared LEDs(markers 6R and 6L) in the embodiment to be described later as well asvarious other light-emitting devices for emitting infrared light.

The “lighting portion” is a concept encompassing light modules in theembodiment to be described later as well as various other light-emittingdevices for shedding visible light on arbitrary places.

While the “display control portion” corresponds to a CPU 10 (and a GPU11 b) of the game apparatus 3 in the embodiment to be described later,any device can be employed so long as it is provided with a function ofcontrolling display on a display device. Also, the “predeterminedinformation processing” is a concept encompassing a game process in theembodiment to be described later as well as any other processes usingdetection results for infrared light as inputs.

While the “lighting control portion” corresponds to the CPU 10 or aninput/output processor 11 a of the game apparatus 3 or a microcomputer28 of an illumination device 9 in the embodiment to be described, anydevice can be employed so long as it controls light emission by thelighting portion.

According to the above feature (1), the image display system displays animage on a display screen and sheds light (visible light) on itssurroundings through the lighting portion. Thus, it is possible toprovide additional illumination effects by light shed on thesurroundings, along with images, thereby providing additional visualeffects to the user, including the images.

(2) The image display system may further include an input deviceprovided with an image pickup portion capable of detecting infraredlight. The display control portion performs the predeterminedinformation processing based on a position of the infrared light in animage picked up by the image pickup portion.

Here, the “input device” corresponds to a controller 5 in the embodimentto be described later, but it does not have to include operation buttonsand an acceleration sensor 37 as in the controller 5 so long as at leastthe image pickup portion is included. Also, while the “image pickupportion” is a solid-state pickup element, such as a CMOS sensor or a CCDsensor, in the embodiment to be described later, any image pickupelement (image pickup device) can be employed so long as it is capableof detecting infrared light.

According to the above feature (2), the predetermined informationprocessing is performed using the position of infrared light in an imagepicked up by the image pickup portion as an input, and therefore theuser can provides an input through an operation of moving the inputdevice provided with the image pickup portion.

(3) The display control portion may display on the display screen a gameimage resulting from a game process performed by the predeterminedinformation processing. In this case, the lighting control portioncontrols lighting by the lighting portion in accordance with the gameprocess.

According to the above feature (3), the image display system adds anillumination effect by the lighting portion to the game image, therebyallowing the game to offer more realistic and impressive effects.

(4) The lighting control portion may change lighting by the lightingportion in accordance with the image on the display screen.

According to the above feature (4), the image display system changeslight to be shed by the lighting portion in accordance with a displayimage, thereby providing an additional illumination effect that matchesthe image.

(5) The image display system may further include an operation-receivingportion for receiving a user operation. In this case, the lightingcontrol portion changes lighting by the lighting portion in accordancewith the user operation received by the operation-receiving portion.

Note that the “operation-receiving portion” is a concept encompassingthe controller 5 in the embodiment to be described later as well as anyother input devices for receiving user operations.

According to the above feature (5), the image display system changeslight shed by the lighting portion in accordance with a user operation,thereby providing an additional illumination effect that matches theuser operation.

(6) The image display system may further include an audio output portionfor outputting a sound based on the predetermined informationprocessing. In this case, the lighting control portion changes lightingby the lighting portion in accordance with the sound outputted by theaudio output portion.

While the “audio output portion” corresponds to a speaker 2 a includedin the display device (television 2) in the embodiment to be describedlater, any device can be employed so long as it has a function ofoutputting audio and the device may be provided independently of thedisplay device.

According to the above feature (6), the image display system changeslight shed by the lighting portion in accordance with an outputtedsound, thereby providing an additional illumination effect that matchesthe outputted sound.

(7) The light-emitting portion may be disposed so as to emit infraredlight forward from the display screen. In this case, the lightingportion is disposed so as to emit visible light rearward from thedisplay screen.

Note that “to emit light forward from the display screen” is intendednot only to strictly mean “emitting light in a direction perpendicularto the display screen” but also to broadly mean that “the emittingdirection is obliquely forward to the direction parallel to the displayscreen”. Similarly, “to emit light rearward from the display screen” isintended to mean that “the emitting direction is obliquely rearward tothe direction parallel to the display screen”, which encompasses thecase where light is emitted slightly upward from the back of the displayscreen as in the embodiment to be described later.

According to the above feature (7), when the light-emitting portion isdirected forward from the display screen, the lighting portion emitsvisible light rearward from the display screen. Accordingly, when thedisplay device is disposed in front of a wall surface, it is possible toshed visible light on the wall surface behind the display device. Thus,visible light is shed around the display screen (see, for example, FIG.15) as viewed from the front of the display device, thereby effectivelyadding an illumination effect to an image on the display screen.

(8) The image display system may further include a first housing and asecond housing. The first housing has the light-emitting portionprovided therein. The second housing is provided independently of thefirst housing and has the lighting portion provided therein.

According to the above feature (8), the first housing having thelight-emitting portion and the second housing having the lightingportion are provided independently of each other, and therefore thelight-emitting portion and the lighting portion can be installed freely.While the environment in which the display device (television) isinstalled varies from one household to another, by increasing the degreeof freedom in installation, it becomes possible to arrange thelight-emitting portion and the lighting portion to suit the environment.

(9) In (8) above, the second housing may be detachable from the firsthousing.

According to the above feature (9), the housing having thelight-emitting portion and the housing having the lighting portion canbe installed as a unit, making it possible to provide a user-friendlysystem.

(10) In (9) above, the second housing may be attached to the firsthousing such that the lighting portion is directed to emit visible lightin a direction opposite to a direction in which the light-emittingportion emits infrared light.

According to the above feature (10), when the light-emitting portion isdirected forward from the display screen as in (7) above, the lightingportion emits visible light rearward from the display screen. Thus, asin (7) above, when the display device is disposed in front of a wallsurface, visible light is shed around the display screen as viewed fromthe front of the display device, thereby effectively adding anillumination effect to an image on the display screen.

(11) The image display system may further include a housing having thelight-emitting portion and the lighting portion accommodated therein.

According to the above feature (11), the light-emitting portion and thelighting portion are provided as a unit, which saves the user thetrouble of installing them separately, making it possible to provide auser-friendly system.

(12) In (11) above, the lighting portion may be disposed in the housingsuch that the lighting portion is directed to emit visible light in adirection opposite to a direction in which the light-emitting portionemits infrared light.

According to the above feature (12), when the light-emitting portion isdirected forward from the display screen as in (7) and (10) above, thelighting portion emits visible light rearward from the display screen.Thus, as in (7) and (10) above, when the display device is disposed infront of a wall surface, an illumination effect can be effectively addedto an image on the display screen.

(13) The lighting portion may emit a plurality of rays of visible lighteach having an elongated cross section.

Note that “having an elongated cross section” is intended to mean thatthe shape of light being shed on a surface perpendicular to the traveldirection of the light is elongated.

According to the above feature (13), the lighting portion sheds aplurality of rays of linear light, and therefore when compared to thecase where only one ray of light is shed, lighting patterns can beincreased, resulting in wider variations of illumination effect.

(14) The lighting portion may include a first emitter portion and asecond emitter portion. The first emitter portion emits a plurality ofrays of visible light in different directions from each other. Thesecond emitter portion emits visible light in such a direction so as tooverlap with the rays of visible light emitted by the first emitterportion, the visible light having a wider cross section than those ofthe rays of visible light.

Here, while the “first emitter portion” corresponds to a set of linearlight modules 61 to 67 for emitting linear light in the embodiment to bedescribed later, it is not limited to any component for emitting linearlight so long as a plurality of rays of visible light are emitted. Also,while the “second emitter portion” corresponds to a background lightmodule 68 for emitting background light in the embodiment to bedescribed later, any device can be employed so long as it emits visiblelight having a wider cross section than the visible light emitted by thefirst emitter portion.

According to the above feature (14), the rays of light from the firstemitter portion and the light from the second emitter portion are shedso as to overlap with each other on a wall surface or suchlike aroundthe lighting portion. In this case, two types of light are shed, andtherefore when compared to the case where only one type of light isshed, lighting patterns can be increased, resulting in wider variationsof illumination effect.

(15) The lighting portion may include light-emitting components capableof emitting light in a plurality of colors. In this case, the lightingcontrol portion at least controls the light to be emitted by thelight-emitting component in terms of color.

While the “light-emitting component” corresponds to a color LED module,which includes red, green and blue LEDs and is capable of emitting lightin 256 colors, in the embodiment to be described, any light-emittingdevice can be employed so long as it is capable of emitting light in twoor more colors.

According to the above feature (15), the color of light shed by thelighting portion can be changed, resulting in much wider variations ofillumination effect.

(16) The image display system may further include a communicationportion and a power control portion. The communication portioncommunicates with another device. The power control portion is capableof power-saving control for supplying no power at least to the displaycontrol portion while supplying power to the communication portion. Inthis case, when the power control portion performs the power-savingcontrol, the lighting control portion controls lighting by the lightingportion upon reception of the predetermined data by the communicationportion.

Here, the “communication portion” corresponds to a set consisting of awireless communication module 18 and an antenna 22 for communicatingwith another game apparatus and various servers connected to a networkin the embodiment to be described later. However, the “communicationportion” may be any device for communicating with another device viawireless or infrared communication (without a network) so long as it hasa function of communicating with another device outside the imagedisplay system.

Also, while the “power control portion” corresponds to a system LSI 11for controlling power supply to each component of the game apparatus 3in the embodiment to be described later, it does not have to controlpower supply to components other than the communication portion so longas it has a function of at least controlling power supply to the displaycontrol portion and the communication portion.

According to the above feature (16), the lighting portion can givenotice of receipt of data from another device in cases other than thecase where an additional visual effect is provided to a display image.Thus, such notice can be given even if the display device is off.

(17) The image display system may further include a brightness detectionportion for detecting ambient brightness. In this case, the lightingcontrol portion changes lighting by the lighting portion in accordancewith the detection result by the brightness detection portion.

For example, the “brightness detection portion” is a light sensor orsuchlike, but any sensor can be employed so long as it can detect anindex of brightness in its surroundings.

According to the above feature (17), the image display system can adjustlighting by the lighting portion in accordance with ambient brightness,thereby producing an illumination effect at a suitable level for ambientbrightness.

(18) Also, the image display system of the present technology mayinclude an image pickup portion, a lighting portion, a display controlportion, and a lighting control portion. The image pickup portion picksup an image of a view forward from the display screen. The lightingportion sheds visible light. The display control portion performspredetermined information processing based on the image picked up by theimage pickup portion, thereby controlling image display on the displayscreen. The lighting control portion controls lighting by the lightingportion when the image is displayed on the display screen.

While the “image pickup portion” is, for example, a camera disposedaround a television for picking up an image of a view forward from thetelevision (as described in the “Other embodiments” section under theheading “Other exemplary game systems”), any device can be employed solong as it picks up an image of a view forward from a display device(display screen).

(19) Also, the image display system of the present invention may includea signal transmission portion, a lighting portion, a display controlportion, and a lighting control portion. The signal transmission portiontransmits a predetermined signal. The lighting portion sheds visiblelight. The display control portion performs predetermined informationprocessing based on a detection result for the predetermined signal,thereby controlling image display on the display screen. The lightingcontrol portion controls lighting by the lighting portion when the imageis displayed on the display screen.

Note that the “signal transmission portion” is, for example, a deviceprovided for outputting a predetermined signal, e.g., radio orultrasonic, which is detected by an input device or suchlike and thedetection result of which is used as an input for informationprocessing.

(20) The present technology also provides an illumination devicedetachably connected to a display control device for controlling adisplay device to display an image. The illumination device includes areception portion and a lighting portion. The reception portion receivesa control instruction from the display control device. The lightingportion sheds visible light rearward from the display device inaccordance with the control instruction received by the receptionportion.

According to the above features (18) to (20), as in (1) above, an imageis displayed on a display screen and light (visible light) is shed onthe surroundings through the lighting portion. Thus, it is possible toprovide additional illumination effects by light shed on thesurroundings, along with images, thereby providing additional visualeffects to the user, including the images.

(21) In (20) above, the lighting portion may include a first emitterportion and a second emitter portion. The first emitter portion emits aplurality of rays of visible light in different directions from eachanother, and each ray has an elongated cross section. The second emitterportion emits visible light in such a direction so as to overlap withthe rays of visible light emitted by the first emitter portion, and thelight emitted by the second emitter portion has a wider cross sectionthan the rays of visible light emitted by the first emitter portion.

According to the above feature (21), the rays of light from the firstemitter portion and the light from the second emitter portion are shedso as to overlap with each other on a wall surface or suchlike aroundthe lighting portion. In this case, two types of light are shed, andtherefore when compared to the case where only one type of light isshed, lighting patterns can be increased, resulting in wider variationsof illumination effect.

According to the present technology, the lighting portion for sheddingvisible light is provided, so that light (visible light) is shed on thesurroundings through the lighting portion while an image is displayed ona display screen, which makes it possible to add illumination effects oflight on images on the display screen, thereby providing additionalvisual effects to the user, along with images.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presenttechnology will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present technology when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view of a game system 1;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating connections between devicesincluded in the game system 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of each devicein the game system 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of acontroller 5;

FIG. 5 is another perspective view illustrating the external appearanceof the controller 5;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an internal structure of the controller 5;

FIG. 7 is another view illustrating an internal structure of thecontroller 5;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of thecontroller 5;

FIG. 9 is an external view of an illumination device 9;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating main features inside theillumination device 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an internal structure of a linearlight module;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating light emitted from the linear lightmodule;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating exemplary linear light being shed whenthree LEDs 75 to 77 are misaligned with respect to axis L;

FIG. 14 provides three views illustrating the arrangement of lightmodules;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating linear light and background light shedon a surface behind a television 2 by the illumination device 9;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating main data to be stored in a mainmemory of the game apparatus 3;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing a flow of the process performed by thegame apparatus 3; and

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a data reception process by aninput/output processor 11 a during a sleep mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[Overall Configuration of the Game System]

Hereinafter, a game system 1, which is an exemplary image display systemaccording to an embodiment, will be described with reference to thedrawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of the game system 1. Also, FIG. 2is a block diagram illustrating connections between devices included inthe game system 1. In FIG. 1, the game system 1 includes a televisionreceiver (hereinafter, simply described as a “television”) 2, a gameapparatus 3, an optical disc 4, a controller 5, a marker device 6, andan illumination device 9. The game system 1 performs a game process inthe game apparatus 3 based on a game operation using the controller 5,and displays a game image or suchlike resulting from the game process onthe television 2.

In the game apparatus 3, the optical disc 4 typifying an informationstorage medium used for the game apparatus 3 in a replaceable manner isdetachably inserted. A game program executed by the game apparatus 3 isstored in the optical disc 4. The game apparatus 3 has, on the frontsurface thereof, an insertion opening for the optical disc 4. The gameapparatus 3 reads and executes the game program stored in the opticaldisc 4 which is inserted through the insertion opening, so as to performthe game process. Also, the controller 5 is an input device providingthe game apparatus 3 with operation data indicating the contents of theoperation performed on the controller. As shown in FIG. 2, thecontroller 5 and the game apparatus 3 are connected via wirelesscommunication. In the present embodiment, for example, Bluetooth(registered trademark) technology is used for the wireless communicationbetween the controller 5 and the game apparatus 3. In anotherembodiment, the controller Sand the game apparatus 3 may be connected bya wire.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the game apparatus 3 is connected to thetelevision 2 (including a speaker 2 a), which is an exemplary displaydevice, via a connecting cord. The television 2 displays a game imageresulting from a game process performed by the game apparatus 3. Also,the television 2 includes the speaker 2 a which outputs game audioresulting from the game process.

The marker device 6 is installed around the television 2 (in FIG. 1,above the screen). As will be described in detail later, the user canperform a game operation of moving the controller 5, and the markerdevice 6 is used by the game apparatus 3 to detect the movement of thecontroller 5. The marker device 6 includes two markers 6R and 6L at itsopposite ends. Specifically, the marker 6R (and also the marker 6L) iscomposed of one or more infrared LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) foroutputting infrared light forward from the television 2. As shown inFIG. 2, the marker device 6 is connected to the game apparatus 3, andthe game apparatus 3 controls lighting of each infrared LED included inthe marker device 6. While FIG. 1 illustrates the marker device 6 asbeing installed on the television 2, the position and direction in whichto install the marker device 6 are optional.

Also, the illumination device 9 is installed around the television 2 (inFIG. 1, above the screen). The illumination device 9 is a device foroutputting visible light for the purpose of providing additional visualeffects (illumination effects) to the user along with images displayedon the television 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the illumination device 9 isconnected to the game apparatus 3, and the game apparatus 3 controlslight emission of the illumination device 9.

The position and direction in which to install the illumination device 9are optional. In the present embodiment, however, the illuminationdevice 9 is assumed to illuminate a wall (a house wall or a curtain)behind the television 2 with visible light, so that the user sees thelight on the wall (see FIG. 15). Therefore, the illumination device 9 ispreferably installed so as to emit visible light rearward of thetelevision 2. Also, in FIG. 1, the illumination device 9 is installed onthe marker device 6. In another embodiment, the illumination device 9may be installed directly on the television 2 or may be installed behindthe television 2 on a stand having the television 2 mounted thereon.Alternatively, the illumination device 9 may have provided therewith amember capable of hanging the illumination device at the back of thetelevision 2.

Also, in another embodiment, the illumination device 9 may be installedso as to be readily detachable from the marker device 6. In such a case,the illumination device 9 is preferably attached to the marker device 6so as to be positioned to emit visible light in a direction opposite toinfrared light emitted from the marker device 6. As a result, it becomespossible to emit infrared light forward from the television 2 andvisible light rearward from the television 2, which is advantageous whenit is assumed that the illumination device 9 sheds visible light on thewall behind the television 2 as in the present embodiment.

Also, in the present embodiment, the marker device 6 and theillumination device 9 are provided as separate units, while in anotherembodiment, the marker device 6 and the illumination device 9 may beprovided as an integral unit. Specifically, a single package may containthe infrared LED of the marker device 6 and a light module of theillumination device 9. Note that in the case where it is assumed that asin the present embodiment, the illumination device 9 sheds visible lighton the wall behind the television 2, the marker device 6 and theillumination device 9 are preferably attached in the package such thatthe illumination device 9 emits visible light in a direction opposite toinfrared light emitted from the marker device 6. As a result, it becomespossible to emit infrared light forward from the television 2 andvisible light rearward from the television 2.

[Internal Structure of the Game Apparatus 3]

Next, an internal structure of the game apparatus 3 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating theconfiguration of each device in the game system 1. The game apparatus 3includes a CPU 10, a system LSI 11, an external main memory 12, aROM/RTC 13, a disk drive 14, an AV-IC 15, and the like.

The CPU 10, functioning as a game processor, performs game processes byexecuting the game program stored in the optical disc 4. The CPU 10 isconnected to the system LSI 11. To the system LSI 11, the external mainmemory 12, the ROM/RTC 13, the disk drive 14, and the AV-IC 15 as wellas the CPU 10 are connected. The system LSI 11 performs processes forcontrolling data transmission between the respective componentsconnected thereto, generating an image to be displayed, acquiring datafrom an external device, and the like. The internal structure of thesystem LSI will be described below. The external main memory 12 of avolatile type stores a program such as a game program read from theoptical disc 4 and a game program read from a flash memory 17, andvarious data, and the external main memory 12 is used as a work area anda buffer area for the CPU 10. The ROM/RTC 13 includes a ROM (a so-calledboot ROM) incorporating a boot program for the game apparatus 3, and aclock circuit (RTC: Real Time Clock) for counting time. The disk drive14 reads program data, texture data, and the like from the optical disk4, and writes the read data into an internal main memory 11 e to bedescribed below or the external main memory 12.

Further, the system LSI 11 includes an input/output processor (I/Oprocessor) 11 a, a GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) 11 b, a DSP (DigitalSignal Processor) 11 c, a VRAM 11 d, and the internal main memory 11 e.These components 11 a, 11 b, 11 c, 11 d, and lie are connected with eachother through an internal bus, which is not shown.

The GPU 11 b, acting as a part of rendering means, generates an image inaccordance with a graphics command (rendering command) from the CPU 10.The VRAM 11 d stores data (data such as polygon data and texture data)necessary for the GPU 11 b to execute the graphics command. When animage is generated, the GPU 11 b generates image data using data storedin the VRAM 11 d.

The DSP 11 c, functioning as an audio processor, generates audio datausing sound data and sound waveform (tone quality) data stored in theinternal main memory 11 e or the external main memory 12.

The image data and the audio data generated as described above are readby the AV-IC 15. The AV-IC 15 outputs the read image data to thetelevision 2 through an AV connector 16, and outputs the read audio datato a speaker 2 a incorporated in the television 2. Thus, an image isdisplayed on the television 2, and a sound is outputted from the speaker2 a.

The input/output processor 11 a performs data transmission to and datareception from the components connected thereto, and download of datafrom an external device. The input/output processor 11 a is connected tothe flash memory 17, a wireless communication module 18, a wirelesscontroller module 19, an extension connector 20, and a memory cardconnector 21. The wireless communication module 18 is connected to anantenna 22, and the wireless controller module 19 is connected to anantenna 23.

The input/output processor 11 a is connected to a network via thewireless communication module 18 and the antenna 22, so as tocommunicate with another game apparatus and various servers connected tothe network. The input/output processor 11 a regularly accesses theflash memory 17, and detects the presence or absence of any data whichneeds to be transmitted to the network, and when detected, transmits thedata to the network through the wireless communication module 18 and theantenna 22. Further, the input/output processor 11 a receives datatransmitted from another game apparatus, and/or downloads data from adownload server, through the network, the antenna 22, and the wirelesscommunication module 18, and the received data and/or the downloadeddata are stored to the flash memory 17. The CPU 10 executes a gameprogram so as to read data stored in the flash memory 17 and use thedata on the game program. The flash memory 17 may store saved data (gameresult data or intermediate-stage data) of a game played using the gameapparatus 3 in addition to data transmitted from the game apparatus 3 toanother game apparatus or the various servers, and data received by thegame apparatus 3 from another game apparatus or the various servers.

The input/output processor 11 a receives operation data transmitted fromthe controller 5 through the antenna 23 and the wireless controllermodule 19, and (temporarily) stores the received operation data to abuffer area of the internal main memory 11 e or the external main memory12.

Further, the input/output processor 11 a is connected to the extensionconnector 20 and the memory card connector 21. The extension connector20 is a connector for an interface, such as USB or SCSI, and allowscommunication with the network by connecting thereto a medium such as anexternal storage medium, connecting thereto another peripheral devicesuch as a controller, and/or connecting thereto a wired communicationconnector, without using the wireless communication module 18. In thepresent embodiment, the extension connector 20 is used for connectingthe illumination device 9 to the game apparatus 3. The memory cardconnector 21 is a connector for connecting thereto an external storagemedium such as a memory card. For example, the input/output processor 11a accesses an external storage medium through the extension connector 20or the memory card connector 21 to store data in the external storagemedium or read data from the external storage medium.

The game apparatus 3 includes a power button 24, a reset button 25, andan eject button 26. The power button 24 and the reset button 25 areconnected to the system LSI 11. When the power button 24 is on, power issupplied to the respective components of the game apparatus 3 through anAC adaptor not shown. When the reset button 25 is pressed, the systemLSI 11 reboots a boot program of the game apparatus 3. The eject button26 is connected to the disk drive 14. When the eject button 26 ispressed, the optical disc 4 is ejected from the disk drive 14.

Note that in the present embodiment, when the power button 24 is turnedon, the system LSI 11 sets a mode (referred to as a “normal mode”) inwhich power is supplied to each component of the game apparatus 3 via anunillustrated AC adaptor, thereby bringing the component into normalconductive state. On the other hand, when the power button 24 is turnedoff, the system LSI 11 sets a mode (hereinafter, referred to as a “sleepmode”) in which power is supplied to apart of the components of the gameapparatus 3, thereby performing power-saving control for keeping powerconsumption at a minimum level. In the present embodiment, when thesleep mode is set, the system LSI 11 provides an instruction to stoppower supply to components other than the input/output processor 11 a,the flash memory 17, the external main memory 12, the ROM/RTC 13, thewireless communication module 18, and the wireless controller module 19.Accordingly, the sleep mode is a mode in which no application isexecuted by the CPU 10. However, in the sleep mode also, the gameapparatus 3 can receive external data, and data transmitted from othergame apparatuses and download servers is stored to the flash memory 17.

Note that the system LSI 11 is supplied with power even during the sleepmode. However, during the sleep mode, the system LSI 11 stops supplyingclocks to some of its components: the GPU 11 b, the DSP 11 c and theVRAM 11 d. As a result, these components are not driven, which reducespower consumption. Although not shown, the game apparatus 3 has a fanprovided in the housing in order to discharge heat from ICs such as theCPU 10 and the system LSI 11. During the sleep mode, the fan is alsostopped.

In addition, the game apparatus 3 can be switched between the normalmode and the sleep mode through a remote operation by pressing the powerbutton of the controller 5. Note that when such switching is notperformed by the remote operation, the wireless controller module 19 maybe supplied with no power during the sleep mode. Also, the user mayinstruct the game apparatus 3 to not employ the sleep mode. In the casewhere the sleep mode is not employed, when the power button 24 is turnedoff, power supply to all circuits is completely stopped.

The illumination device 9 is detachably connected to the game apparatus3 via the extension connector 20. The illumination device 9 is a devicefor emitting visible light for the purpose of providing additionalvisual effects to the user along with images displayed on the television2. As shown in FIG. 3, the illumination device 9 includes a connector27, a microcomputer 28, and a light module 29. The connector 27 isdetachably connected to the extension connector 20 of the game apparatus3 via an unillustrated cable. Note that the game apparatus 3 and theillumination device 9 may communicate by any possible method, and inanother embodiment, they may communicate wirelessly.

Also, the microcomputer 28 is connected to the connector 27, and thelight module 29 is connected to the microcomputer 28. The light module29 is composed of a plurality of light-emitting devices each emittingvisible light. In the present embodiment, the light module 29 consistsof a plurality of color LED modules capable of emitting light in theirrespective colors. Note that the detailed configuration of the lightmodule 29 will be described later. The microcomputer 28 is a circuit forcontrolling light emission of the light module 29. The game apparatus 3transmits data to the illumination device 9, thereby specifying colorsof light to be emitted by the light module 29. The microcomputer 28acquires the data transmitted from the game apparatus 3 via theconnector 27, and controls light emission of the light module 29 inaccordance with the data. Note that the illumination device 9 may besupplied with power via an unillustrated AC adaptor (i.e., independentlyof the game apparatus 3) or by the game apparatus 3.

[Configuration of the Controller 5]

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the controller 5 will bedescribed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the externalappearance of the controller 5. FIG. 5 is another perspective viewillustrating the external appearance of the controller 5. Theperspective view of FIG. 4 shows the controller 5 as viewed from the toprear side thereof, and the perspective view of FIG. 5 shows thecontroller 5 as viewed from the bottom front side thereof.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the controller 5 has a housing 31 formed by, forexample, plastic molding. The housing 31 has a generally parallelepipedshape extending in a longitudinal direction from front to rear (Z-axisdirection shown in FIG. 4), and as a whole is sized to be held by onehand of an adult or even a child. The user (player) can perform gameoperations by pressing buttons provided on the controller 5, and movingthe controller 5 to change the position and the orientation thereof.

The housing 31 has a plurality of operation buttons. As shown in FIG. 4,on the top surface of the housing 31, a cross button 32 a, a firstbutton 32 b, a second button 32 c, an A button 32 d, a minus button 32e, a home button 32 f, a plus button 32 g, and a power button 32 h areprovided. In the present invention, the top surface of the housing 31 onwhich the buttons 32 a to 32 h are provided may be referred to as a“button surface”. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a recessedportion is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 31, and a Bbutton 32 i is provided on a rear slope surface of the recessed portion.The operation buttons 32 a to 32 i are assigned, as necessary, theirrespective functions in accordance with the game program executed by thegame apparatus 3. Further, the power button 32 h is intended to remotelyturn ON/OFF the game apparatus 3. The home button 32 f and the powerbutton 32 h each have the top surface thereof recessed below the topsurface of the housing 31. Therefore, the home button 32 f and the powerbutton 32 h are prevented from being inadvertently pressed by theplayer.

On the rear surface of the housing 31, the connector 33 is provided. Theconnector 33 is used for connecting the controller 5 to another device.Both sides of the connector 33 on the rear surface of the housing 31have a fastening hole 33 a for preventing easy inadvertent disengagementof another device as described above.

In the rear-side portion of the top surface of the housing 31, aplurality (four in FIG. 4) of LEDs 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, and 34 d areprovided. The controller 5 is assigned a controller type (number) so asto be distinguishable from another main controller. The LEDs 34 a, 34 b,34 c, and 34 d are each used for informing the player of the controllertype which is currently being set for the controller 5 being used, andfor informing the player of remaining battery power of the controller 5,for example. Specifically, when a game operation is performed using thecontroller 5, one of the plurality of LEDs 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, and 34 dcorresponding to the controller type is lit up.

The controller 5 has an imaging information calculation section 35 (FIG.7), and a light incident surface 35 a through which a light is incidenton the imaging information calculation section 35 is provided on thefront surface of the housing 31, as shown in FIG. 5. The light incidentsurface 35 a is made of a material transmitting therethrough at leastinfrared light outputted from the markers 6R and 6L.

On the top surface of the housing 31, sound holes 31 a for externallyoutputting a sound from a speaker 49 (shown in FIG. 6) incorporated inthe controller 5 is provided between the first button 32 b and the homebutton 32 f.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, an internal structure of thecontroller 5 will be described. FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams illustratingthe internal structure of the controller 5. FIG. 6 is a perspective viewillustrating a state where an upper casing (a part of the housing 31) ofthe controller 5 is removed. FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating astate where a lower casing (a part of the housing 31) of the controller5 is removed. The perspective view of FIG. 7 shows a substrate 30 ofFIG. 6 as viewed from the reverse side.

As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate 30 is fixed inside the housing 31, andon a top main surface of the substrate 30, the operation buttons 32 a to32 h, the LEDs 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, and 34 d, an acceleration sensor 37, anantenna 45, the speaker 49, and the like are provided. These elementsare connected to a microcomputer 42 (see FIG. 7) via lines (not shown)formed on the substrate 30 and the like. In the present embodiment, theacceleration sensor 37 is provided on a position offset from the centerof the controller with respect to the X-axis direction. Thus,calculation of the movement of the controller 5 being rotated around theZ-axis may be facilitated. Further, the acceleration sensor 37 isprovided anterior to the center of the controller 5 with respect to thelongitudinal direction (Z-axis direction). Further, a wireless module 44(see FIG. 7) and the antenna 45 allow the controller 5 to act as awireless controller.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, at a front edge of a bottom mainsurface of the substrate 30, the imaging information calculation section35 is provided. The imaging information calculation section 35 includesan infrared filter 38, a lens 39, an image pickup element 40 and animage processing circuit 41 located in order, respectively, from thefront of the controller 5. These components 38 to 41 are attached on thebottom main surface of the substrate 30.

On the bottom main surface of the substrate 30, the microcomputer 42 anda vibrator 48 are provided. The vibrator 48 is, for example, a vibrationmotor or a solenoid, and is connected to the microcomputer 42 via linesformed on the substrate 30 or the like. The controller 5 is vibrated byactuation of the vibrator 48 based on a command from the microcomputer42. Therefore, the vibration is conveyed to the player's hand holdingthe controller 5, and thus a so-called vibration-feedback game isrealized. In the present embodiment, the vibrator 48 is disposedslightly toward the front of the housing 31. That is, the vibrator 48 ispositioned offset from the center toward the end of the controller 5,and therefore the vibration of the vibrator 48 can lead to enhancementof the vibration of the entire controller 5. Further, the connector 33is provided at the rear edge of the bottom main surface of the substrate30. In addition to the components shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the controller5 includes a quartz oscillator for generating a reference clock of themicrocomputer 42, an amplifier for outputting a sound signal to thespeaker 49, and the like.

FIGS. 4 to 7 show only examples of the shape of the controller 5 and thegyroscope unit 7, the shape of each operation button, the number and thepositions of acceleration sensors and vibrators, and so on. The presentinvention can be realized with other shapes, numbers, and positions.Further, although in the present embodiment the imaging direction of theimage pickup means is the Z-axis positive direction, the imagingdirection may be any direction. That is, the imagining informationcalculation section 35 (the light incident surface 35 a through which alight is incident on the imaging information calculation section 35) ofthe controller 5 may not necessarily be provided on the front surface ofthe housing 31, but may be provided on any other surface on which alight can be received from the outside of the housing 31.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of thecontroller 5. The controller 5 includes an operation section 32 (theoperation buttons 32 a to 32 i), the connector 33, the imaginginformation calculation section 35, a communication section 36, and theacceleration sensor 37. The controller 5 transmits, as operation data,data representing the content of an operation performed on thecontroller 5 itself, to the game apparatus 3.

The operation section 32 includes the operation buttons 32 a to 32 idescribed above, and outputs, to the microcomputer 42 of thecommunication section 36, operation button data indicating an inputstate (that is, whether or not each operation button 32 a to 32 i ispressed) of each operation button 32 a to 32 i.

The imaging information calculation section 35 is a system for analyzingimage data taken by the image pickup means and calculating, for example,the centroid and the size of an area having a high brightness in theimage data. The imaging information calculation section 35 has a maximumsampling period of, for example, about 200 frames/sec., and thereforecan trace and analyze even a relatively fast motion of the controller 5.

The imaging information calculation section 35 includes the infraredfilter 38, the lens 39, the image pickup element 40 and the imageprocessing circuit 41. The infrared filter 38 transmits therethroughonly infrared light included in the light incident on the front surfaceof the controller 5. The lens 39 collects the infrared light transmittedthrough the infrared filter 38 so as to be incident on the image pickupelement 40. The image pickup element 40 is a solid-state imaging devicesuch as, for example, a CMOS sensor or a CCD sensor, which receives theinfrared light collected by the lens 39, and outputs an image signal.The markers 6R and 6L of the marker device 6 provided near the displayscreen of the television 2 each include an infrared LED for outputtingan infrared light forward from the television 2. Therefore, the infraredfilter 38 enables the image pickup element 40 to receive only theinfrared light transmitted through the infrared filter 38 and generateimage data, so that an image of each of the markers 6R and 6L can betaken with enhanced accuracy. Hereinafter, the image taken by the imagepickup element 40 is referred to as a pickup image. The image datagenerated by the image pickup element 40 is processed by the imageprocessing circuit 41. The image processing circuit 41 calculates, inthe pickup image, the positions of subjects to be imaged (the marker 6Rand the marker 6L). The image processing circuit 41 outputs datarepresenting coordinate points of the calculated positions, to themicrocomputer 42 of the communication section 36. The data representingthe coordinate points is transmitted as operation data to the gameapparatus 3 by the microcomputer 42. Hereinafter, the coordinate pointsare referred to as “marker coordinate points”. The marker coordinatepoint changes depending on the orientation (angle of tilt) and/or theposition of the controller 5 itself, and therefore the game apparatus 3is allowed to calculate the orientation and the position of thecontroller 5 using the marker coordinate point.

In another embodiment, the controller 5 may not necessarily include theimage processing circuit 41, and the controller 5 may transmit thepickup image as it is to the game apparatus 3. At this time, the gameapparatus 3 may have a circuit or a program, having the same function asthe image processing circuit 41, for calculating the marker coordinatepoint.

The acceleration sensor 37 detects accelerations (including agravitational acceleration) of the controller 5, that is, force(including gravity) applied to the controller 5. The acceleration sensor37 detects a value of an acceleration (linear acceleration) applied to adetection section of the acceleration sensor 37 in the straight linedirection along the sensing axis direction, among all accelerationsapplied to a detection section of the acceleration sensor 37. Forexample, a multiaxial acceleration sensor having two or more axesdetects an acceleration of a component for each axis, as theacceleration applied to the detection section of the accelerationsensor. For example, the three-axis or two-axis acceleration sensor maybe of the type available from Analog Devices, Inc. or STMicroelectronicsN.V. The acceleration sensor 37 is, for example, an electrostaticcapacitance type acceleration sensor. However, another type ofacceleration sensor may be used.

In the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor 37 detects a linearacceleration in each of three axis directions, i.e., the up/downdirection (Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 4), the left/right direction(the X-axis direction shown in FIG. 4), and the forward/backwarddirection (the Z-axis direction shown in FIG. 4), relative to thecontroller 5. The acceleration sensor 37 detects an acceleration in thestraight line direction along each axis, and an output from theacceleration sensor 37 represents a value of the linear acceleration foreach of the three axes. In other words, the detected acceleration isrepresented as a three-dimensional vector (ax, ay, az) in anXYZ-coordinate system (controller coordinate system) defined relative tothe controller 5. Hereinafter, a vector representing components of theacceleration values detected for the three axes, respectively, by theacceleration sensor 37 is referred to as an acceleration vector.

Data (acceleration data) representing the acceleration detected by theacceleration sensor 37 is outputted to the communication section 36. Theacceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 37 changes depending onthe orientation (angle of tilt) and the movement of the controller 5,and therefore the game apparatus 3 is allowed to calculate theorientation and the movement of the controller 5 using the accelerationdata. In the present embodiment, the game apparatus 3 determines theorientation (angle of tilt) of the controller 5 based on theacceleration data. That is, the acceleration sensor 37 is used as asensor for outputting data by which to determine the angle of tilt ofthe controller 5.

When a computer such as a processor (for example, the CPU 10) of thegame apparatus 3 or a processor (for example, the microcomputer 42) ofthe controller 5 processes an acceleration signal outputted from theacceleration sensor 37, additional information relating to thecontroller 5 can be inferred or calculated (determined), as one skilledin the art will readily understand from the description herein. Forexample, in the case where the computer performs processing on thepremise that the controller 5 including the acceleration sensor 37 is instatic state (that is, in the case where processing is performed on thepremise that the acceleration to be detected by the acceleration sensorincludes only the gravitational acceleration), when the controller 5 isactually in static state, it is possible to determine whether or not, orhow much the controller 5 tilts relative to the direction of gravity,based on the acceleration having been detected. Specifically, when thestate where the detection axis of the acceleration sensor 37 facesvertically downward is set as a reference, whether or not the controller5 tilts relative to the reference can be determined based on whether ornot 1 G (gravitational acceleration) is applied to the detection axis,and the degree to which the controller 5 tilts relative to the referencecan be determined based on the magnitude of the gravitationalacceleration. Further, the multiaxial acceleration sensor 37 processesthe acceleration signals having been detected for the respective axes soas to more specifically determine the degree to which the controller 5tilts relative to the direction of gravity. In this case, the processormay calculate, based on the output from the acceleration sensor 37, theangle at which the controller 5 tilts, or the direction in which thecontroller 5 tilts without calculating the angle of tilt. Thus, theacceleration sensor 37 is used in combination with the processor, makingit possible to determine the angle of tilt or the orientation of thecontroller 5.

On the other hand, when it is premised that the controller 5 is indynamic state (where the controller 5 is being moved), the accelerationsensor 37 detects the acceleration based on the movement of thecontroller 5, in addition to the gravitational acceleration. Therefore,when the gravitational acceleration component is eliminated from thedetected acceleration through a predetermined process, it is possible todetermine the direction in which the controller 5 moves. Even when it ispremised that the controller 5 is in dynamic state, the accelerationcomponent based on the movement of the acceleration sensor is eliminatedfrom the detected acceleration through a predetermined process, wherebyit is possible to determine the tilt of the controller 5 relative to thedirection of gravity. In another embodiment, the acceleration sensor 37may include an embedded processor or another type of dedicated processorfor performing any desired processing on an acceleration signal detectedby the acceleration detection means incorporated therein beforeoutputting to the microcomputer 42. For example, when the accelerationsensor 37 is intended to detect static acceleration (for example,gravitational acceleration), the embedded or dedicated processor couldconvert the acceleration signal to a corresponding angle of tilt (oranother preferable parameter).

Note that in the present embodiment, for example, an electrostaticcapacitance-type acceleration sensor is used as the sensor foroutputting values fluctuating in accordance with the movement of thecontroller, but another type of acceleration sensor or a gyroscope maybe used. However, it should be noted that the acceleration sensordetects a linear acceleration along each axis, while the gyroscopedetects an angular rate for rotation. Specifically, in the case wherethe gyroscope is employed in place of the acceleration sensor, thenature of signals to be detected is changed, and therefore they cannotbe simply replaced with each other. Accordingly, in the case where thegyroscope is used in place of the acceleration sensor to calculate anorientation (angle of tilt), for example, the following changes aremade. Specifically, the game apparatus 3 initializes the value oforientation at the start of detection. Then, angular rate data outputtedby the gyroscope is integrated. Furthermore, the integration result isused to calculate the amount of orientation change from the initializedorientation value. In this case, the calculated orientation is expressedby an angle.

Note that, as has already been described, in the case where theacceleration sensor is used to calculate the angle of tilt(orientation), the angle of tilt is calculated based on an accelerationvector. Accordingly, the calculated angle of tilt can be expressed by avector, and therefore the case where the acceleration sensor is useddiffers from the case where the gyroscope is used in that an absolutedirection can be calculated without initialization. Also, the nature ofthe value calculated as an angle of tilt differs as described above whenit is an angle or, a vector, and therefore when the acceleration sensoris replaced with the gyroscope, it is necessary to perform predeterminedconversion on data for the angle of tilt.

The communication section 36 includes the microcomputer 42, a memory 43,the wireless module 44 and the antenna 45. The microcomputer 42 controlsthe wireless module 44 for wirelessly transmitting, to the gameapparatus 3, data acquired by the microcomputer 42 while using thememory 43 as a storage area in the process. Further, the microcomputer42 is connected to the connector 33. Data transmitted from the gyroscopeunit 7 is inputted to the microcomputer 42 through the connector 33.Hereinafter, a structure of the gyroscope unit 7 will be described.

Data outputted from the operation section 32, the imaging informationcalculation section 35, and the acceleration sensor 37 to themicrocomputer 42 are temporarily stored to the memory 43. The data aretransmitted as the operation data to the game apparatus 3. At the timeof the transmission to the wireless controller module 19 of the gameapparatus 3, the microcomputer 42 outputs the operation data stored inthe memory 43 to the wireless module 44. The wireless module 44 uses,for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) technology to modulatethe operation data onto a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency, andradiates the low power radio wave signal from the antenna 45. That is,the operation data is modulated onto the low power radio wave signal bythe wireless module 44 and transmitted from the controller 5. Thewireless controller module 19 of the game apparatus 3 receives the lowpower radio wave signal. The game apparatus 3 demodulates or decodes thereceived low power radio wave signal to obtain the operation data. Basedon the obtained operation data and the game program, the CPU 10 of thegame apparatus 3 performs the game process.

The wireless transmission from the communication section 36 to thewireless controller module 19 is sequentially performed at apredetermined time interval. Since the game process is generallyperformed at a cycle of 1/60 sec. (corresponding to one frame time),data is preferably transmitted at a cycle of a shorter time period. Thecommunication section 36 of the controller 5 outputs, to the wirelesscontroller module 19 of the game apparatus 3, the respective operationdata at intervals of 1/200 seconds, for example.

The controller 5 makes it possible for the player to perform anoperation of tilting the controller 5 at an arbitrary angle of tilt inaddition to conventional and general game operations of pressing theoperation buttons. By the controller 5, the player can also performother operations, which include pointing at an arbitrary position on thescreen with the controller 5 and moving the controller 5 itself.

[Configuration of the Illumination Device 9]

Next, referring to FIGS. 9 to 15, the configuration of the illuminationdevice 9 will be described. FIG. 9 is an external view of theillumination device 9. Also, FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustratingmain features inside the illumination device 9. In FIG. 9, theillumination device 9 includes a housing 51, a cover 52, a shaft headportion 53, a support shaft 54, a support 55, and eight light modules 61to 68. The illumination device 9 is intended to emit visible light,which is shed on the wall behind the television 2, thereby providingadditional visual effects to the user along with images displayed on thetelevision 2.

As shown in FIG. 9, the housing 51 has an opening in its top surface(the surface on the y-axis positive direction side shown in FIG. 9), andthe housing 51 has installed therein the support shaft 54, the support55, and the eight light modules 61 to 68. The eight light modules 61 to68 (the light modules shown in FIG. 3) are attached on the support 55.As will be described in detail later, the light modules 61 to 68 arevisible light-emitting components. Also, the opening above the support55 and the light modules 61 to 68 has the transparent cover 52 attachedthereto. Accordingly, light emitted from the light modules 61 to 68 istransmitted through the cover 52 to the outside of the housing 51. Notethat in another embodiment, the illumination device 9 may have no cover52 such that the emission surfaces of the light modules 61 to 68 areexposed to the outside.

Also, as shown in FIG. 10, the support 55 is connected at its oppositeends (ends in the x-axis direction shown in FIG. 10) to the supportshaft 54. The support shaft 54 is inserted in holes provided in the sidesurfaces of the housing 51. As a result, the support 55 is rotatablysupported (about the x-axis) by the housing 51. Also, the support shaft54 is connected to the shaft head portions 53 outside the housing 51.Accordingly, the user can rotate the shaft head portions 53, therebyrotating the support 55 (changing its inclination). In this manner, theillumination device 9 has a tilt mechanism including the support 55 andthe support shaft 54, and therefore the user can change the inclinationof the support 55, thereby changing the emitting direction of the lightmodules 61 to 68.

Next, the internal structure of the light modules will be described.Among the eight light modules 61 to 68, seven of them, 61 to 67, arearranged in almost the same direction (i.e., not exactly in the samedirection), and emit light (“linear light” to be described later) havingan elongated (linear) cross section. The seven light modules 61 to 67have the same structure. On the other hand, the light module 68 emitslight (“background light” to be described later) having a wider crosssection than the light modules 61 to 67. In the following descriptions,to distinguish the light modules 61 to 67 and the light module 68, theformer may be referred to as a “linear light module”, while the lattermay be referred to as a “background light module”.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the internal structure of the linearlight module. In FIG. 11, the linear light module 61 includes a housing71, a color LED module 72, a condensing lens 73, and a diffusion sheet74. While FIG. 11 shows the internal structure of the linear lightmodule 61, the other linear light modules 62 to 67 have the sameinternal structures as that shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the housing 71 has a box-like shape with an opentop surface. In the housing 71, the color LED module 72 is attached to abase plate (bottom). The color LED module 72 is capable of emittinglight of a plurality of colors. In the present embodiment, the color LEDmodule 72 includes a red LED 75, a green LED 76 and a blue LED 77, andcan emit light of a desired color by the microcomputer 28 (FIG. 2)suitably adjusting the intensity of light emitted from each of the LEDs75 to 77 (e.g., each at 256 levels). The three LEDs 75 to 77 arearranged in line (in FIG. 11, a line is formed along axis L parallel tothe a-axis direction).

The condensing lens 73 is provided above the color LED module 72. InFIG. 11, the condensing lens 73 is attached to the opening of thehousing 71. In the present embodiment, the condensing lens 73 convergeslight only in one direction. In the present embodiment, the convergingdirection of the condensing lens 73 (the direction in which the lens hasa curvature) is the c-axis direction shown in FIG. 11 (see the arrowshown in FIG. 11). Also, in the present embodiment, to reduce the sizeof the light module 61, a Fresnel lens (linear Fresnel lens) is used asthe condensing lens 73. In another embodiment, in place of the linearFresnel lens, a convex cylindrical lens may be used as the condensinglens 73.

The diffusion sheet 74 is attached above the condensing lens 73. Thediffusion sheet 74 diffuses light only in a direction perpendicular tothe converging direction of the condensing lens 73, i.e., in the a-axisdirection. Note that in another embodiment, in place of the diffusionsheet 74, a concave cylindrical lens may be used.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating light emitted from the linear lightmodule. As shown in FIG. 11, light from the color LED module 72 iscondensed in the c-axis direction by the condensing lens 73 and alsodiffused in the a-axis direction by the diffusion sheet 74. As a result,light emitted from the linear light module has an elongated (linear)cross section which is wide in the a-axis direction and narrow in thec-axis direction, as shown in FIG. 12. Here, the “cross section oflight” refers to the shape of light being shed on a surfaceperpendicular to the travel direction of the light. Hereinafter, lighthaving an elongated (linear) cross section is referred to as “linearlight”.

Also, in the present embodiment, the converging direction (the arrowshown in FIG. 11) of the condensing lens 73 is perpendicular to thedirection in which the three LEDs 75 to 77 are arranged (the directionof axis L shown in FIG. 11) Specifically, the three LEDs 75 to 77 arearranged side by side along axis L parallel to the a-axis direction,while the condensing lens 73 is disposed such that the convergingdirection coincides with the c-axis direction perpendicular to thea-axis direction. The reason for this is to mix three colors of lightfrom the three LEDs 75 to 77 without displacement, thereby clearlyshedding linear light on the wall surface (so that the light appears asa single color). Here, if the three LEDs 75 to 77 are misaligned withrespect to axis L, light emitted from each of the LEDs 75 to 77 andtransmitted through the condensing lens 73 is displaced with respect tothe c-axis direction. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating exemplary linearlight being shed when the three LEDs 75 to 77 are misaligned withrespect to axis L. In this case, three rays of light from the LEDs 75 to77 are shed on the wall surface while being displaced with respect tothe c-axis direction, so that the three colors of light are mixed at thecenter 81 but they are not mixed at the periphery 82 of the linear lightas shown in FIG. 13. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, theLEDs 75 to 77 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to theconverging direction of the condensing lens 73, so that rays of lightbeing shed coincide at their peripheries, making it possible to make theshed light appear clear.

Note that in the present embodiment, the condensing lens 73 and thediffusion sheet 74 are used to shed linear light on the wall surface.Here, in another embodiment, linear light may be created by any method.For example, linear light may be created using only the condensing lens73 without using the diffusion sheet 74 or may be created using slits inplace of the condensing lens 73 and the diffusion sheet 74.Alternatively, the linear light modules 61 to 67 may shed laser light inplace of LED light, thereby realizing linear light.

Also, the background light module 68 emits light (background light)having a broader cross section than the light emitted by the linearlight modules 61 to 67. In the present embodiment, the background lightmodule 68 includes the housing and the color LED module units butincludes neither the condensing lens nor the diffusion sheet. While thebackground light module 68 has three color (red, green and blue) LEDs asthe color LED module units, these LEDs emit light with a higherintensity at a wider angle when compared to the LEDs used in the linearlight modules 61 to 67. In the present embodiment, the background lightmodule 68 emits light with a lower intensity than the light from thelinear light modules 61 to 67, thereby rendering the linear light moreconspicuous than the background light. Conversely, by increasing thelight intensity of the background light module 68 higher than the lightintensity of the linear light modules 61 to 67, the background light canbe more conspicuous than the linear light. Also, only one of thebackground light and the linear light may be shed. Note that in anotherembodiment, the background light module 68 may use a condensing lens asin the linear light modules 61 to 67 or may use a condensing lens and adiffusion sheet. In the case where a condensing lens is used, theconverging direction is the same as in the linear light modules 61 to67. Also, the diffusion sheet to be used diffuses light in both thevertical and horizontal directions.

Next, the arrangement of the light modules 61 to 68 in the illuminationdevice 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 providesthree views illustrating the arrangement of the light modules. In FIG.14, view (a) illustrates the light modules 61 to 68 as viewed from they-axis positive direction (from above), view (b) illustrates the lightmodules 61 to 68 as viewed from the z-axis negative direction (fromfront), and view (c) illustrates the light modules 61 to 68 as viewedfrom the x-axis negative direction. While FIG. 14 shows the emittingdirection of the light module 64 as being vertically upward for easyunderstanding of the descriptions, the light modules 61 to 68 are inreality disposed at a tilt such that the illumination device 9 emitslight from the back obliquely upward.

The linear light modules 61 to 68 emit linear light obliquely upwardfrom the rear of the illumination device 9, such that the light radiatesfrom around the illumination device 9. Specifically, as shown in views(a) and (b) of FIG. 14, the linear light modules 61 to 67 are arrangedside by side in the x-axis direction (right-left direction) so as to besymmetrical with respect to yz-plane and radial from the linear lightmodule 64. Also, the linear light modules 61 to 67 are arranged with thelongitudinal directions of their emission surfaces (the longitudinaldirections of rays of linear light) being approximately radial from apredetermined position behind the illumination device 9, as viewed fromabove (in the y-axis positive direction) as in view (a) of FIG. 14.Specifically, the linear light modules 61 to 67 are arranged with therears (the ends in the z-axis positive direction) of the outermostmodules being directed most obliquely to the inside, as viewed fromabove. Furthermore, the linear light modules 61 to 67 are arranged withtheir emitting directions being approximately radial from apredetermined position below the illumination device 9, as viewed fromfront as in view (b) of FIG. 14. Specifically, the linear light modules61 to 67 are arranged with the emitting directions of the outermostmodules being directed most obliquely to the outside, as viewed fromabove.

Also, the background light module 68 emits background light in such adirection so as to overlap with linear light emitted from the linearlight modules 61 to 67. Specifically, as shown in view (a) of FIG. 14,the background light module 68 is located approximately at the centeramong the linear light modules 61 to 67 in the x-axis direction(right-left direction). Also, the background light module 68 is locatedbehind the linear light modules 61 to 67 in the z-axis direction(front-back direction). Furthermore, as in view (c) of FIG. 14, thebackground light module 68 is disposed with its emitting directiontilted slightly downward compared to the linear light module 64. Inanother embodiment, the background light module 68 may have the emittingdirection pointing upward compared to the linear light module 64 or thesame emitting direction as the linear light module 64.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating linear light and background light shedon a surface behind the television 2 by the illumination device 9. InFIG. 15, a region 91 has light from the linear light module 61 shedthereon, a region 92 has light from the linear light module 62 shedthereon, a region 93 has light from the linear light module 63 shedthereon, a region 94 has light from the linear light module 64 shedthereon, a region 95 has light from the linear light module 65 shedthereon, a region 96 has light from the linear light module 66 shedthereon, a region 97 has light from the linear light module 67 shedthereon, and a region 98 has light from the background light module 68shed thereon. As shown in FIG. 15, in the present embodiment, light isshed on a surface behind the television 2, thereby providing aneffective illumination effect (decorative effect) to the display screensuch that the display screen as viewed from the front of the television2 appears as if its surroundings were decorated with light. Also, if theillumination device 9 emits light to the user (i.e., forward), the useronly perceives the illumination device 9 as merely lighting up at onepoint, which is marginal as a decorative effect on the display screen.On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the illumination device 9emits light rearward so that the light is shed on a wall surface,thereby causing the user to see the light on the wall surface.Therefore, it is possible to achieve a significant decorative effect ofallowing the user to see light in a wider range than the display screenof the television 2.

By arranging the linear light modules 61 to 67 as shown in FIG. 14,linear light can be shed obliquely upward from the back of theillumination device 9 so as to be approximately radial from theillumination device 9, as shown in FIG. 15. In the present embodiment,the illumination device 9 sheds a plurality of rays of linear light, andtherefore when compared to the case where only one ray of light is shed,lighting patterns can be increased, resulting in wider variations ofillumination effect.

In general, it is conceivable that the wall behind the television 2 hasa flat surface or even an irregular surface, e.g., a reentrant surface(typically, in the case where the television 2 is positioned in a cornerof a room) or a curtain behind the television 2. If the wall surface hassuch irregularities, shed light might be distorted due to theirregularities. For example, when horizontally elongated light (having ahorizontally long cross section) is shed on an irregular wall surface,the shed light does not appear as a single line. Also, for example, whena plurality of rays of light are emitted side by side in the horizontaldirection, if the rays of light are shed on an irregular surface, theybecome horizontally misaligned. On the other hand, in the presentembodiment, the illumination device 9 radially sheds a plurality of raysof linear light, and therefore it is possible to shed linear light withless conspicuous distortion caused by the light being shed on anirregular surface behind the television 2, so that linear light can besimilarly shed radially on walls of different surface conditions. Forexample, in the case where a plurality of rays of linear light areemitted to a room corner, the rays of light are shed straight althoughthe angle of radiation differs from the case where the rays of light areemitted onto a plane, so that the shed light has little unnaturalness inappearance. Also, in general, most surfaces of curtains or suchlike arehorizontally irregular and have less irregularities in the verticaldirection, and therefore linear light can be similarly shed so as toappear almost as linear as it should be.

Also, in the present embodiment, by disposing the background lightmodule 68 as shown in FIG. 14, the linear light and the background lightcan be shed so as to overlap with each other on the wall surface, asshown in FIG. 15. Accordingly, the illumination device 9 can control thecolor not only of the linear light but also of the background, andtherefore when compared to the case where only the linear light iscontrolled, lighting patterns can be increased, resulting in widervariations of illumination effect. Also, in the present embodiment, thelight intensity of the background light module 68 is set lower than thelight intensity of the linear light modules 61 to 67, and therefore anyregions on which both the background light and the linear light are shedappear as the color of the linear light. That is, the linear lightappears on the wall surface as if it were shed overlapping on thebackground light.

Note that the arrangement of the light modules 61 to 68 shown in FIG. 14is merely illustrative, and the linear light modules 61 to 67 may bearranged in any manner so long as the linear light is shed on the wallsurface behind the television 2 so as to be approximately radial fromthe illumination device 9. Also, in another embodiment, for example, thelinear light modules 61 to 67 may be arranged such that rays of linearlight are parallel to one another or represent a predetermined shape. Onthe other hand, the background light module 68 may be disposed in anymanner so long as light is emitted therefrom in such a direction so asto overlap with light from the linear light modules 61 to 67. Also, inanother embodiment, the background light module 68 may be disposed suchthat light is emitted therefrom in such a direction so as to overlapwith light from some of the linear light modules 61 to 67.

[Process by the Game Apparatus 3 for Controlling the Illumination Device9]

Next, processes performed by the game apparatus 3 will be describedmainly focusing on a process for controlling the illumination device 9.In the present embodiment, when the game apparatus 3 performs a gameprocess in accordance with a game program stored on the optical disc 4,a game image is displayed on the television 2 and the illuminationdevice 9 is used to provide additional illumination effects.Hereinafter, control of the illumination device 9 when performing a gameprocess will be described.

First, main data used in the process performed by the game apparatus 3will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a diagramillustrating main data to be stored in the main memory (the externalmain memory 12 or the internal main memory 11 e) of the game apparatus3. As shown in FIG. 16, a game program 101, operation data 102, andprocess data 106 are stored in the main memory of the game apparatus 3.In addition to the data shown in FIG. 16, data necessary for the gameprocess, such as image data of various objects appearing in a game, datarepresenting various parameters of the objects, and the like, are storedin the main memory.

Part or all of the game program 101 is read from the optical disc 4 andstored to the main memory at an appropriate time after the gameapparatus 3 is brought into the aforementioned normal mode. The gameprogram 101 includes a program for performing a game process and aprogram for controlling light emission of the illumination device 9 inaccordance with the game process (step S5 to be described later).

The operation data 102 is operation data transmitted from the controller5 to the game apparatus 3. As described above, the operation data istransmitted from the controller 5 to the game apparatus 3 at intervalsof 1/200 seconds, and therefore the operation data 102 stored in themain memory is updated at the same intervals. The operation data 102contains operation button data 103, marker coordinate data 104, andacceleration data 105.

The operation button data 103 is data representing an input state ofeach of the operation buttons 32 a to 32 i. Specifically, the operationbutton data 103 indicates whether or not the operation buttons 32 a to32 i are being pressed.

The marker coordinate data 104 represents a coordinate point calculatedby the image processing circuit 41 of the imaging informationcalculation section 35, that is, the data represents the markercoordinate point. The marker coordinate point is expressed by atwo-dimensional coordinate system for representing a positioncorresponding to a pickup image in a plane. When an image including twomarkers 6R and 6L (infrared light) is taken by the image pickup element40, two marker coordinate points are calculated. On the other hand, wheneither the marker 6R or the marker 6L is not positioned within a rangein which the image pickup element 40 is allowed to take an image, theimage pickup element 40 takes an image including only one marker, andonly one marker coordinate point is calculated. Further, when neitherthe marker 6R nor the marker 6L is positioned within the range in whichthe image pickup element 40 is allowed to take an image, the imagepickup element 40 does not take any image of the markers, so that nomarker coordinate point is calculated. Therefore, the marker coordinatedata 104 may represent two marker coordinate points, one markercoordinate point, or no marker coordinate point.

The acceleration data 105 is data representing an acceleration(acceleration vector) detected by the acceleration sensor 37. Here, theacceleration data 105 represents a three-dimensional acceleration vectorwhose components are accelerations associated with the directions ofthree axes, that is, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis shown inFIG. 4.

The process data 106 is data used for a game process (FIG. 17) describedbelow. The process data 106 contains game data 107 and light emissioncontrol data 108. The game data 107 is data for game parameters havingeffect on control of the illumination device 9. For example, the gamedata 107 may be data representing parameters for characters appearing ina game or data indicating the position of a cursor displayed on thescreen.

The light emission control data 108 is data for controlling lightemission from the illumination device 9. In the present embodiment, thelight emission control data 108 indicates the color and intensity oflight to be emitted by each light module 29 of the illumination device9. Specifically, for example, emission intensities of the red, green andblue LEDs are represented by 256 levels. As will be described in detaillater, the light emission control data 108 is transmitted to theillumination device 9 and acquired by the microcomputer 28, whichcontrols the light modules 29 in accordance with the light emissioncontrol data 108.

Next, the process performed by the game apparatus 3 will be described indetail with reference to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing a flowof the process performed by the game apparatus 3. In the normal mode,when the user inputs an instruction to start the game to the gameapparatus 3, the CPU 10 of the game apparatus 3 executes a boot programstored in an unillustrated boot ROM, so as to initialize each unit,including the main memory. Then, the game program stored in the opticaldisc 4 is loaded to the main memory, and the CPU 10 starts executing thegame program. The flow chart of FIG. 17 illustrates a process performedwhen the processes described above are completed.

First, in step S1, the CPU 10 performs an initialization process for thegame. In the initialization process, values of various parameters to beused in the game process are initialized, a virtual game space isestablished, and a player object and other objects are arranged ininitial positions within the game space. Following step S1, a processloop of steps S2 to S6 will be repeatedly performed while the game isexecuted. Note that the process loop is executed once every frame period(e.g., 1/60 sec.).

In step S2, the CPU 10 acquires operation data. Specifically, operationdata transmitted from the controller 5 is received via the wirelesscontroller module 19. Then, operation button data, marker coordinatedata and acceleration data contained in the received operation data arestored to the main memory. Following step S2, the process of step S3 isperformed.

In step S3, the CPU 10 executes a game process based on the operationdata acquired in step S2. Specifically, for example, the process isexecuted to control action of a game character based on the operationdata or calculate a position of a cursor displayed on the screen basedon the operation data (in particular, for example, marker coordinatedata 104). At this time, game data 107 resulting from the game processis stored to the main memory. Following step S3, the process of step S4is performed.

In step S4, the CPU 10 displays a game image on the screen of thetelevision 2 in accordance with the game process executed in step S3.Specifically, the CPU 10 (and the GPU 11 b) reads the game data 107 fromthe main memory, and then generates and displays the game image on thescreen based on the game data 107 and other data. For example, the gameimage may be an image of the game space including the game character orhaving a cursor image superimposed thereon. Also, in step S4, the CPU 10(and the DSP 11 c) generates a game sound based on the game data 107 andother data in accordance with the game process, and outputs thegenerated sound through the speaker 2 a. Note that the game sound maybe, for example, background music in the game, sound effect in the game,or the voice of the game character. Following step S4, the process ofstep S5 is performed.

In step S5, the CPU 10 controls light emission by the illuminationdevice 9. Specifically, the CPU 10 reads the game data 107 from the mainmemory, and generates light emission control data 108, which indicatesthe color and the intensity of light to be emitted by each light module29, based on the game data 107. The generated light emission controldata 108 is stored to the main memory, and the input/output processor 11a transmits the data to the illumination device 9 via the extensionconnector 20. Upon receipt of the light emission control data 108, themicrocomputer 28 of the illumination device 9 controls light emission ofeach light module 29 in accordance with the light emission control data108. Note that in the present embodiment, the light emission controldata 108 is transmitted to the illumination device 9 at the same timeintervals as updating of the game image ( 1/60 sec.), although it can betransmitted at any time intervals. In this manner, the light emissioncontrol data 108 is repeatedly transmitted, so that the game apparatus 3can change lighting by the illumination device 9, thereby providingillumination effects to the user in accordance with, for example, gameconditions, game image, game sound, and game operation. Following stepS5, the process of step S6 is performed.

In step S5, the CPU 10 determines the state of light emission by theillumination device 9 in accordance with the game process of step S3.For example, the state of light emission by the illumination device 9 isdetermined based on game conditions, game image, game sound, and gameoperation. Specific examples of control of the illumination device 9include the following:

(1) Exemplary Control in Accordance with a Game Image (Game Conditions)

The CPU 10 changes the state of light emission by the illuminationdevice 9 (e.g., light intensity, color, and light emission pattern) inaccordance with a change of the game image (game conditions) on thescreen. For example, in a fighting game, the state of light emission bythe illumination device 9 may be changed in response to a character'sattack successfully landing on another character, or in a shooting game,the state of light emission by the illumination device 9 may be changedin response to a bullet hitting a target. In this manner, anillumination effect can be effectively added to a game image byproducing the illumination effect in accordance with a change of thegame image.

(2) Exemplary Control in Accordance with a Game Operation

The CPU 10 changes the state of light emission by the illuminationdevice 9 in accordance with the user's game operation. Specifically, theCPU 10 may cause the light modules 61 to 68 to emit light or change thecolor of light in response to the user pressing an operation button ofthe controller 5.

Also, in the case where the position of a cursor on the screen iscontrolled in accordance with an operation on the controller 5, the CPU10 may change the state of light emission by each of the light modules61 to 68 in accordance with the cursor position on the screen. Forexample, each of the linear light modules 61 to 67 may correspond to oneof seven sections into which the screen is horizontally divided, suchthat only the linear light module corresponding to a region includingthe cursor position emits light.

(3) Exemplary Control in Accordance with Game Sound

The CPU 10 changes the state of light emission by the illuminationdevice 9 in accordance with music, such as background music, in thegame. Specifically, the light modules 61 to 68 blink to the rhythm ofthe music or change light emission pattern and/or colors to the tone(pitch) of outputted sound. Also, in a music game where music is playedin accordance with the user's game operation, the illumination device 9may be controlled in accordance with the music played. As a result, theuser can enjoy the music, which is being played through his/heroperations, not only aurally but also visually.

In step S6, the CPU 10 determines whether or not to end the game. Thedetermination of step S6 is made based on, for example, whether or notthe game has been cleared, whether or not the game is over, or whetheror not the player has given an instruction to stop the game. When thedetermination result of step S6 is negative, the process of step S2 isperformed again. Thereafter, until the game is determined to be ended instep S6, a process loop of steps S2 to S6 is repeatedly performed. Onthe other hand, when the determination result of step S6 is affirmative,the CPU 10 ends the game process shown in FIG. 17. This is the end ofthe description of the game process.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the television2 displays the game image and the illumination device 9 sheds light onthe wall surface behind the television 2 to provide additionalillumination effects. As a result, additional visual effects can beprovided to the user along with game images, allowing the game to offermore realistic and impressive effects.

Other Embodiments

The above embodiment is an example of carrying out the presenttechnology, and in other embodiments, the present technology can becarried out in the following manners, for example.

(Variant in which the Illumination Device 9 is Driven in Accordance withImages Other than the Game Image)

While the above embodiment has been described with respect to the casewhere the illumination device 9 produces an additional illuminationeffect when the game image is displayed on the screen of the television2, the image to be displayed on the screen of the television 2 is notlimited to the game image, and moving and still images other than thegame image may be displayed. For example, the game apparatus 3 mayexternally acquire an image from another game apparatus or a server viaa network, and the illumination device 9 may produce an additionalillumination effect when the television 2 displays the image. In thiscase, the game apparatus 3 may acquire data (the aforementioned lightemission control data 108) for controlling light emission by theillumination device 9 along with the image or from a different device orserver from the source of the image. Also, the game apparatus 3 mayautomatically create light emission control data from the acquired imagein accordance with a predetermined algorithm.

(Variant in which the Illumination Device 9 Emits Light for a UserNotification)

Also, the illumination device 9 may be used for the purpose of providinga user notification in addition to the purpose of providing anadditional visual effect to the image displayed on the television 2. Inthe present embodiment, the game apparatus 3 can operate in theaforementioned sleep mode. In the sleep mode, the CPU 10 does notoperate, so that neither the game process is performed nor the gameimage is displayed, but the input/output processor 11 a communicateswith an external device (e.g., another game apparatus or a serverdevice) via a network. For example, in the sleep mode, the gameapparatus 3 transmits/retrieves a message (in e-mail format) created bythe user to/from another game apparatus or retrieves a game program orvideo data from a server device. In the present variant, when the gameapparatus 3 in the sleep mode receives a message from another gameapparatus, the illumination device 9 emits light to provide a receiptnotification. A detailed description thereof will be provided below.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a data reception process by theinput/output processor 11 a during the sleep mode. In the sleep mode,the input/output processor 11 a performs the process shown in FIG. 18 atpredetermined times (e.g., once every predetermined time period). WhileFIG. 18 shows the process during the sleep mode, the input/outputprocessor 11 a also communicates with external devices during the normalmode.

In step S11, the input/output processor 11 a accesses a mail serverwhich stores and manages messages, and confirms whether or nor there isany message directed to the game apparatus 3. Subsequently, in step S12,the input/output processor 11 a determines whether or not there is anymessage to be retrieved based on the confirmation result of step S11.When there is any message to be retrieved, the process of step S13 isperformed. On the other hand, when there is no message to be retrieved,the input/output processor 11 a ends the data reception process shown inFIG. 18.

In step S13, the input/output processor 11 a retrieves a message fromthe mail server. Specifically, the input/output processor 11 a accessesthe mail server to retrieve a message and then stores the message to theflash memory 17. Following step S13, the process of step S14 isperformed.

In step S14, the input/output processor 11 a causes the illuminationdevice 9 to start light emission. Specifically, the input/outputprocessor 11 a creates the aforementioned light emission control dataand transmits it to the illumination device 9 via the extensionconnector 20. Upon receipt of the light emission control data, themicrocomputer 28 of the illumination device 9 controls light emission bythe light modules 29 in accordance with the light emission control data.Thereafter, the input/output processor 11 a repeatedly transmits thelight emission control data to continue light emission by theillumination device 9. As a result, the user can be made aware ofmessage reception by the illumination device 9 emitting light. Followingstep S14, the input/output processor ends the data reception processshown in FIG. 18.

Note that in step S14, the input/output processor 11 a may change thestate of light emission by the illumination device 9 (e.g., lightintensity, color, and light emission pattern) in accordance with thestatus of data reception. For example, the state of light emission bythe illumination device 9 may be changed in accordance with the numberof received messages, message senders, and types of received data (e.g.,whether it is a message or game-related data). As a result, the state oflight emission by the illumination device 9 allows the user to knowinformation about received data (e.g., the type of received data).

As described above, according to the above variant, the game apparatus 3causes the illumination device 9 to emit light in response to messagereception, thereby making the user aware of message reception. Note thatin the above variant, the game apparatus 3 causes the illuminationdevice 9 to emit light in response to message reception, but in anotherembodiment, the illumination device 9 may be caused to emit light inresponse to reception of message data and other data (e.g., a gameprogram or video data transmitted from a server) or reception of dataother than message data.

Also, in the above variant, the game apparatus 3 causes the illuminationdevice 9 to emit light in response to data reception only during thesleep mode, but in another embodiment, such a light emission operationmay be performed during the normal mode as well.

(Variant in which the Illumination Device 9 is Controlled Differently inAccordance with Brightness)

Note that in another embodiment, the game system 1 may change the stateof light emission by the illumination device 9 in accordance withambient brightness. Specifically, the game system 1 includes a sensor(e.g., a light sensor) for detecting ambient brightness in addition tothe features shown in FIG. 1, and the state of light emission by theillumination device 9 may be changed in accordance with a detectionresult by the sensor. Note that the sensor is preferably providedindependently of the game apparatus 3 and can communicate with the gameapparatus 3 in a wired or wireless manner. Also, the sensor ispreferably installed around the television 2. For example, when it isdetermined to be relatively bright around the game system 1 based on adetection result by the sensor, the game apparatus 3 may control thestate of light emission by the illumination device 9 to providerelatively bright light, and when it is determined to be relatively darkaround the game system 1, the state of light emission by theillumination device 9 may be controlled to provide relatively low light.As a result, for example, the game system 1 can prevent the illuminationdevice 9 from shedding excessively low light on a wall surface underhigh ambient light conditions or from shedding excessively high lightunder low ambient light conditions.

(Other Exemplary Game Systems)

In the above embodiment, the game system 1 has the marker device 6provided as an accompanying device to be set around the television 2.Here, in another embodiment, the accompanying device may be thefollowing device, for example. Specifically, the accompanying device maybe a camera for picking up an image of a view forward from thetelevision 2. At this time, the game apparatus 3 performs predeterminedinformation processing based on the image picked up by the camera.Possible examples of the predetermined information processing include aprocess for controlling the game in accordance with the position of theuser or input device in the picked up image, a process for displaying animage obtained by processing the picked up image, and a game process forusing a portion of the picked up image (e.g., the user's face) as a gameimage.

Also, the accompanying device may be a device for outputting apredetermined signal, e.g., radio or ultrasonic, in place of the markerdevice 6 which outputs infrared light. In this case, as the inputdevice, the controller 5 detects the predetermined signal, and the gameapparatus 3 performs the predetermined information processing based onthe detection result. For example, the game apparatus 3 performs a gameprocess as the predetermined information processing, in which, forexample, the position of the controller 5 is calculated from thedetection result and the calculated position is used as a game input.Conversely, the input device may output the aforementioned predeterminedsignal, and the sensor for detecting the predetermined signal may beprovide to the accompanying device.

Also, in another embodiment, the illumination device 9 may furtherinclude an audio output device such as a speaker. In such a case, inaddition to the light emission control data, the game apparatus 3further transmits data for specifying the sound to be outputted by theaudio output device. The data may specify sound which is the same as ordifferent from the sound (game sound) outputted by the speaker 2 a ofthe television 2. Upon receipt of the data, the microcomputer 28 of theillumination device 9 controls the audio output device to output soundin accordance with the data. Thus, the illumination device 9 can provideaudio effects to the user along with visual effects.

As described above, the present technology is applicable to, forexample, game systems for displaying game images for the purpose of, forexample, providing additional visual effects to the user along withimages displayed on the screen.

While the technology presented herein has been described in detail, theforegoing description is in all aspects illustrative and notrestrictive. It is understood that numerous other modifications andvariations can be devised without departing from the scope of thepresent technology.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image display system for displaying an imageon a display screen, comprising: a light-emitting portion for emittinginfrared light; a lighting portion for shedding visible light; a displaycontrol portion for performing predetermined information processingbased on a detection result for the infrared light, thereby controllingimage display on the display screen; and a lighting control portion forcontrolling lighting by the lighting portion, wherein the lightingportion sheds visible light toward a direction containing a componentopposite to a direction in which the light emitting portion emitsinfrared light.
 2. The image display system according to claim 1,further comprising an input device provided with an image pickup portioncapable of detecting infrared light, wherein, the display controlportion performs the predetermined information processing based on aposition of the infrared light in an image picked up by the image pickupportion.
 3. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein, thedisplay control portion displays a game image on the display screen, thegame image resulting from a game process performed by the predeterminedinformation processing, and the lighting control portion controlslighting by the lighting portion in accordance with the game process. 4.The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the lightingcontrol portion changes lighting by the lighting portion in accordancewith the image on the display screen.
 5. The image display systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising an operation-receiving portionfor receiving a user operation, wherein, the lighting control portionchanges lighting by the lighting portion in accordance with the useroperation received by the operation-receiving portion.
 6. The imagedisplay system according to claim 1, further comprising an audio outputportion for outputting a sound based on the predetermined informationprocessing, wherein, the lighting control portion changes lighting bythe lighting portion in accordance with the sound outputted by the audiooutput portion.
 7. The image display system according to claim 1,wherein, the light-emitting portion is disposed so as to emit infraredlight forward from the display screen, and the lighting portion isdisposed so as to emit visible light rearward from the display screen.8. The image display system according to claim 1, further comprising: afirst housing having the light-emitting portion provided therein, and asecond housing provided independently of the first housing, the secondhousing having the lighting portion provided therein.
 9. The imagedisplay system according to claim 8, wherein the second housing isdetachable from the first housing.
 10. The image display systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a housing having thelight-emitting portion and the lighting portion accommodated therein.11. The image display system according to claim 10, wherein the lightingportion is disposed in the housing such that the lighting portion isdirected to emit visible light in a direction opposite to a direction inwhich the light-emitting portion emits infrared light.
 12. The imagedisplay system according to claim 1, wherein the lighting portion emitsa plurality of rays of visible light each having an elongated crosssection.
 13. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein thelighting portion includes: a first emitter portion for emitting aplurality of rays of visible light in different directions from eachother; and a second emitter portion for emitting visible light in such adirection so as to overlap with the rays of visible light emitted by thefirst emitter portion, the visible light having a wider cross sectionthan those of the rays of visible light.
 14. The image display systemaccording to claim 1, wherein, the lighting portion includeslight-emitting components capable of emitting light in a plurality ofcolors, and the lighting control portion at least controls the light tobe emitted by the light-emitting component in terms of color.
 15. Theimage display system according to claim 1, further comprising: acommunication portion for communicating with another device; and a powercontrol portion capable of power-saving control for supplying no powerat least to the display control portion while supplying power to thecommunication portion, wherein, when the power control portion performsthe power-saving control, the lighting control portion controls lightingby the lighting portion upon reception of the predetermined data by thecommunication portion.
 16. The image display system according to claim1, further comprising a brightness detection portion for detectingambient brightness, wherein, the lighting control portion changeslighting by the lighting portion in accordance with the detection resultby the brightness detection portion.
 17. An image display system fordisplaying an image on a display screen, comprising: an image pickupportion for picking up an image of a view forward from the displayscreen; a lighting portion for shedding visible light; a display controlportion for performing predetermined information processing based on theimage picked up by the image pickup portion, thereby controlling imagedisplay on the display screen; and a lighting control portion forcontrolling lighting by the lighting portion when the image is displayedon the display screen, wherein the lighting portion sheds visible lighttoward a direction containing a component opposite to an image pickupdirection of the image pickup portion.
 18. An illumination devicedetachably connected to a display control device for controlling adisplay device to display an image, comprising: a light-emitting portionfor emitting infrared light; a reception portion for receiving a controlinstruction based on a detection result for the infrared light from thedisplay control device; a lighting portion for shedding visible lightrearward from the display device in accordance with the controlinstruction received by the reception portion; and a housing includingthe light-emitting portion and the lighting portion therein.
 19. Theillumination device according to claim 18, wherein the lighting portionincludes: a first emitter portion for emitting a plurality of rays ofvisible light in different directions from each another, each ray havingan elongated cross section; and a second emitter portion for emittingvisible light in such a direction so as to overlap with the rays ofvisible light emitted by the first emitter portion, the light emitted bythe second emitter portion having a wider cross section than the rays ofvisible light emitted by the first emitter portion.
 20. An image displaysystem for displaying an image on a display screen, comprising: an imagepickup portion; a lighting portion for shedding visible light; a displaycontrol portion for performing predetermined information processingbased on the image picked up by the image pickup portion, therebycontrolling image display on the display screen; a lighting controlportion for controlling lighting by the lighting portion when the imageis displayed on the display screen; and a housing including the imagepickup portion and the lighting portion therein.
 21. An illuminationdevice detachably connected to a display control device for controllinga display device to display an image, comprising: an image pickupportion; a lighting portion for shedding visible light when an image isdisplayed on the display device by predetermined information processingperformed based on the image picked up by the image pickup portion; anda housing including the image pickup portion and the lighting portiontherein.
 22. An image display system for displaying an image on adisplay screen, comprising: an image pickup portion for picking up animage of a view forward from the display screen; a lighting portion forshedding visible light; a display control portion for performingpredetermined information processing based on the image picked up by theimage pickup portion, thereby controlling image display on the displayscreen; and a lighting control portion for controlling lighting by thelighting portion when the image is displayed on the display screen,wherein: the image pickup portion picks up an image of a user in frontof the display screen; and the lighting portion sheds visible light on awall surface behind the display screen.